Almost half of German voters undecided as poll nears

Forty-six percent of German voters do not know who to vote for in the September 24 parliamentary election, according to a poll published in Wednesday’s edition of newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine.

The newspaper said the share of undecided voters this close to an election was higher than at any point in the past 20 years. Yet at the same time, 45 percent of those surveyed believe the outcome of the election is already decided — the highest percentage since German reunification.

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative CDU/CSU bloc is still comfortably ahead with 39.5 percent support, according to the poll by the Allensbach Institute. The Social Democrats (SPD) are 15 points behind at 24.5 percent.

The popularity of Merkel’s main rival, SPD candidate Martin Schulz, has flagged recently, with his approval rating at only 51 percent among his own party’s supporters. Merkel’s approval rating among CDU/CSU supporters is at 80 percent.